An exceptional, encyclopedic, and hopeful vision of the future.
An accomplished scholar discusses societal transformation in this expansive study.
Visser’s pragmatic perspective on humanity’s challenges as expressed in this work is reason for optimism. An academic, poet, and author of 40 books, he brilliantly addresses the interrelationship of humans with nature, society, the economy, and organizations under the broad umbrella of regeneration. Drawing from his own research and others’, Visser identifies “six keys to thriving”—complexity, circularity, creativity, coherence, convergence, and continuity—deftly explaining each in the first chapter. “Six” is a recurrent theme; the author subsequently talks about the shift from “six forces of breakdown” to “six counterforces of breakthrough,” a concept that helps establish the foundation for a wide-ranging, erudite discussion of regeneration. A section on “Nature” delves into restoring ecosystems and developing a circular economy, the subjects of Visser’s Closing the Loop, a 2018 documentary. In the next two sections, the author writes elegantly about an inclusive, healthier economy along with the effects of technology and such crises as climate change on the world’s societies. Finally, Visser tackles how systems integration and forward-thinking leaders can play integral roles in regenerating businesses. The quality of the writing is superb throughout the work; the author clearly, thoroughly, and convincingly covers each topic. One distinctive feature of the book is the frequent use of sidebars highlighting a “Key Concept,” “Fresh Insight,” “Hot Trend,” “Case Spotlight,” “Breakthrough Solution,” or other intriguing tidbits of information. Such additions serve to enrich and illustrate the text with engaging, timely content. Another unusual aspect of the book is its poetry. To close each chapter, Visser appends a relevant poem he wrote. For example, “Giving Up” begins: “I’m giving up— / Not on life, but on those actions that threaten life / Not on living, but on those habits that distract from living / Not on loving, but on those fears that get in the way of loving.” These poems insert a warmly creative literary element into an otherwise scholarly text. Extensive notes and an exhaustive bibliography demonstrate the rigorous research conducted by the author.
An exceptional, encyclopedic, and hopeful vision of the future.Pub Date: March 8, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-63908-007-6
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Fast Company Press
Review Posted Online: March 5, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2022
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A sweet final word from an actor who leaves a legacy of compassion and kindness.
The late actor offers a gentle guide for living with more purpose, love, and joy.
Mixing poetry, prescriptive challenges, and elements of memoir, Heche (1969-2022) delivers a narrative that is more encouraging workbook than life story. The author wants to share what she has discovered over the course of a life filled with abuse, advocacy, and uncanny turning points. Her greatest discovery? Love. “Open yourself up to love and transform kindness from a feeling you extend to those around you to actions that you perform for them,” she writes. “Only by caring can we open ourselves up to the universe, and only by opening up to the universe can we fully experience all the wonders that it holds, the greatest of which is love.” Throughout the occasionally overwrought text, Heche is heavy on the concept of care. She wants us to experience joy as she does, and she provides a road map for how to get there. Instead of slinking away from Hollywood and the ridicule that she endured there, Heche found the good and hung on, with Alec Baldwin and Harrison Ford starring as particularly shining knights in her story. Some readers may dismiss this material as vapid Hollywood stuff, but Heche’s perspective is an empathetic blend of Buddhism (minimize suffering), dialectical behavioral therapy (tolerating distress), Christianity (do unto others), and pre-Socratic philosophy (sufficient reason). “You’re not out to change the whole world, but to increase the levels of love and kindness in the world, drop by drop,” she writes. “Over time, these actions wear away the coldness, hate, and indifference around us as surely as water slowly wearing away stone.” Readers grieving her loss will take solace knowing that she lived her love-filled life on her own terms. Heche’s business and podcast partner, Heather Duffy, writes the epilogue, closing the book on a life well lived.
A sweet final word from an actor who leaves a legacy of compassion and kindness.Pub Date: Jan. 24, 2023
ISBN: 9781627783316
Page Count: 176
Publisher: Viva Editions
Review Posted Online: Feb. 6, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2023
Occasionally wonky but overall a good case for how the dismal science can make the world less—well, dismal.
“Quality of life means more than just consumption”: Two MIT economists urge that a smarter, more politically aware economics be brought to bear on social issues.
It’s no secret, write Banerjee and Duflo (co-authors: Poor Economics: A Radical Rethinking of the Way To Fight Global Poverty, 2011), that “we seem to have fallen on hard times.” Immigration, trade, inequality, and taxation problems present themselves daily, and they seem to be intractable. Economics can be put to use in figuring out these big-issue questions. Data can be adduced, for example, to answer the question of whether immigration tends to suppress wages. The answer: “There is no evidence low-skilled migration to rich countries drives wage and employment down for the natives.” In fact, it opens up opportunities for those natives by freeing them to look for better work. The problem becomes thornier when it comes to the matter of free trade; as the authors observe, “left-behind people live in left-behind places,” which explains why regional poverty descended on Appalachia when so many manufacturing jobs left for China in the age of globalism, leaving behind not just left-behind people but also people ripe for exploitation by nationalist politicians. The authors add, interestingly, that the same thing occurred in parts of Germany, Spain, and Norway that fell victim to the “China shock.” In what they call a “slightly technical aside,” they build a case for addressing trade issues not with trade wars but with consumption taxes: “It makes no sense to ask agricultural workers to lose their jobs just so steelworkers can keep theirs, which is what tariffs accomplish.” Policymakers might want to consider such counsel, especially when it is coupled with the observation that free trade benefits workers in poor countries but punishes workers in rich ones.
Occasionally wonky but overall a good case for how the dismal science can make the world less—well, dismal.Pub Date: Nov. 12, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-61039-950-0
Page Count: 432
Publisher: PublicAffairs
Review Posted Online: Aug. 28, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2019
SEEN & HEARD
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
